Barossa Valley railway line

Last updated

Barossa Valley railway line
Overview
StatusDisused
Owner Aurizon
Locale Barossa Valley
Termini
Continues from Gawler line
History
Opened8 September 1911 (1911-09-08)
Closed25 June 2014 (2014-06-25)
Technical
Line length44.2 km (27.5 mi)
Number of tracks single track
Track gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm)
Route map

Contents

km
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92.3
Truro
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83.4
Stockwell
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89.31
Plush's Corner
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BSicon exlBST.svg
BSicon exKBST3.svg
84.0
Penrice quarry
freight only
closed 2014
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BSicon exSTRc4.svg
BSicon exSTR.svg
BSicon exKHSTa.svg
82.8
Angaston
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BSicon exBST.svg
BSicon exKRWg+l.svg
BSicon exKRWr.svg
BSicon MASKr.svg
BSicon exABZgl+l.svg
BSicon exlBHF.svg
BSicon exdENDEeq.svg
77.0
Nuriootpa
Nuriootpa triangle
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Kroemers Crossing
severed 2020
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70.2
Tanunda
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Rowlands Flat
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56.9
Lyndoch
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Wilamba
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Warpoo
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50.0
Sandy Creek
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Kalperri
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Kalbeeba
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Pelberre
BSicon KBHFxa.svg
BSicon ELCa.svg
42.2
Gawler Central
end of suburban network
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BSicon lNULf.svg
BSicon BLe.svg
41.4
Gawler Oval
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BSicon eABZg+r.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
39.8
Gawler
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BSicon KBHFe.svg
0.0
Adelaide

The Barossa Valley railway line is a closed railway line in South Australia. It was first opened in 1911, extending from the Gawler line to Angaston with later branches being built to Penrice and Truro. Much of the line from Gawler to Penrice remained open up until June 2014 (passenger services had ceased much earlier in December 1968). The section of line from Nuriootpa to Truro was removed in the 1990s. The section of line from Nuriootpa to Angaston was taken up in 2010 and replaced with a rail trail.

History

The Angaston line opened from Gawler through Nuriootpa to Angaston in 1911. [1]

The line from Nuriootpa to Truro opened on 24 September 1917. [2] Before it had been built, there was public discussion about it continuing to Dutton, Steinfeld and Sedan. [3] The Truro line had also at various times been proposed to be extended to the Murray River at Blanchetown, [4] but this was rejected in 1923. [5]

By November 1950, a branch line from Light Pass on the Truro line to Penrice Quarry was built. The Truro line closed to passengers on 16 December 1968. Some freight trains and special tours by the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) used the line to Truro until 1979 when Australian National declared the line unsafe. In the late 1970s the Truro line became the branch line and the Penrice line the mainline. The last ARHS special to operate past Penrice Junction was on 20 September 1981, when Rx 207 worked to Stockwell.

From 1987, the line beyond Stockwell was used to store surplus rolling stock. It was later removed and the track between there and Truro lifted. Remaining rollingstock between Penrice Junction and Stockwell was cleared during February 1990; with that section of line also being closed and later taken up. The line past Penrice junction was officially declared closed during 1992. Some relics of the line remain today. In 2010, the track between Angaston and Nuriootpa was lifted and a shared bike and pedestrian path was put in place. [6]

Bulk cement was transported by rail from the Adelaide Brighton Cement works adjacent to the railway line east of Stockwell Road on the western side of Angaston until the mid-1990s.[ citation needed ]

Since the cessation of the Penrice Stone Train to Penrice Quarry in June 2014, the line has been booked out of use. [7] [8] [9]

Services

Passenger services operated on the line from its opening. Regular passenger services were withdrawn in December 1968. [10] From November 1996, the adelaide suburban rail operator TransAdelaide introduced a trial Sundays only service to Nuriootpa. [11] In May 1998, Bluebird Rail Operations, a business of C.O.C. Limited, commenced operating the Barossa Wine Train from Adelaide to Tanunda with three refurbished Bluebirds (102, 251 and 252). These services ceased by April 2003 with the last passenger train on the line being a National Railway Museum Angaston charter on 7 November 2004. [12] [13]

Stations

There were a total of 11 stopping places on the line between Gawler and Angaston. [14]

On the Truro branch:

Current Status

The remaining line between Gawler and Penrice remains but lays dormant and is not currently listed as being in use. [17] About 120 metres of track at an intersection between Tanunda and Nuriootpa has been severed and replaced with a roundabout for vehicles. [18] There have been constant proposals and calls for the line to be reopened for either passenger or tourist purposes but no plan has yet been acted upon. [19] [20] [21] [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barossa Valley</span> Region in South Australia

The Barossa Valley is a valley in South Australia located 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major wine-producing region and tourist destination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanunda, South Australia</span> Town in South Australia

Tanunda is a town situated in the Barossa Valley region of South Australia. In the 2021 census, Tanunda recorded a population of 4,710 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barossa Council</span> Local government area in South Australia

Barossa Council is a local government area in the Barossa Valley in South Australia. The council area covers 912 square kilometres, and had a population of over 23,000 in the 2016 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light Regional Council</span> Local government area in South Australia

Light Regional Council is a local government area north of Adelaide in South Australia. It is based in the town of Kapunda, and includes the towns of Freeling, Greenock, Hansborough, Hewett, Roseworthy and Wasleys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail transport in South Australia</span>

Rail transport in the Australian state of South Australia is provided by a number of railway operators who operate over the government-owned railway lines. The network consists of 1435 mm standard gauge links to other states, the 1600 mm broad gauge suburban railways in Adelaide, a freight-only branch from Dry Creek to Port Adelaide and Pelican Point, a narrow-gauge gypsum haulage line on the Eyre Peninsula, and both copper–gold concentrate and coal on the standard-gauge line in the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor north of Tarcoola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gawler line</span> Commuter railway line in Adelaide, South Australia

The Gawler line, also known as the Gawler Central line, is a suburban commuter railway line in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. The Gawler Line is the most frequent and heavily patronised line in the Adelaide rail network. It is also the only line to have no other interchange with another line except Adelaide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyndoch, South Australia</span> Town in South Australia

Lyndoch is a town in Barossa Valley, located on the Barossa Valley Highway between Gawler and Tanunda, 58 km northeast of Adelaide. The town has an elevation of 175m and an average rainfall of 560.5mm. It is one of the oldest towns in South Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angaston, South Australia</span> Town in South Australia

Angaston is a town on the eastern side of the Barossa Valley in South Australia, 77 km northeast of Adelaide. Its elevation is 347 m, one of the highest points in the valley, and has an average rainfall of 561  mm. Angaston was originally known as German Pass, but was later renamed after the politician, banker and pastoralist George Fife Angas, who settled in the area in the 1850s. Angaston is in the Barossa Council local government area, the state electoral district of Schubert and the federal Division of Barker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 class railcar</span> Railcars of suburban Adelaide

The 2000 class and 2100 class were diesel multiple units that operated on the Adelaide rail network between 1980 and 2015. They were built by Comeng in Granville, New South Wales in 1979–1980. As of 2024, six railcars have been preserved while the rest have been scrapped.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association</span> Australian rules football competition

The Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association, more commonly referred to as the BL&GFA, is an Australian rules football competition based in the Barossa Valley, Gawler Region and Light Region of South Australia, Australia. Just 42 kilometres north of the state capital of Adelaide, the BL&GFA is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football League. In 2024, the Willaston Donnybrooks secured their twenty-fifth premiership overall and their third in the BLGFA. The current president of the League is Mick Brien and the major sponsor of the league is the Grant Burge Winery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanunda railway station</span> Railway station in Southern Australia

Tanunda railway station is located on the Barossa Valley line. It served the town of Tanunda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuriootpa railway station</span> Former railway station in South Australia, Australia

Nuriootpa railway station was located at the junction of the Angaston railway line and the Truro railway line. It served the town of Nuriootpa, South Australia.

The Barossa Trail is a 40 kilometres (25 mi) cycling and walking path through the Barossa Valley in South Australia, opened in May 2014. Much of the Barossa Trail follows the Barossa Valley railway line, but is not a rail trail as part of the railway was still operating at the time it was built. As it is not on the railway formation, it has more undulations than a true rail trail would have. The part near Rowland Flat is away from both the railway and main road. It has much sharper corners than would be expected on a rail trail.

The Leader is a weekly newspaper that was first published in Angaston, South Australia on 24 July 1918, and continues being published to the present day in the Barossa Valley. It was the first English-language newspaper covering any part of the Barossa Valley, apart from the Kapunda Herald.

The 1933 Barossa state by-election was a by-election held on 8 July 1933 for the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Barossa. The by-election was caused by the death on 4 June 1933 of independent MP Dr Herbert Basedow, who had regained the seat at the 1933 election less than two months prior. He had previously held the seat from 1927 to 1930.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hundred of Nuriootpa</span> Cadastral in South Australia

The Hundred of Nuriootpa is a cadastral unit of hundred in the County of Light, South Australia split between in the eastern Adelaide Plains and western Barossa Valley. Named in 1847 for an indigenous term officially thought to mean "bartering place" and traditionally used as neutral ground for trading between various indigenous tribes, it is bounded on the south and east by the North Para River.

A by-election was held on 22 November 1924 for one of the seats of the three-member electoral district of Barossa, South Australia. The cause for the by-election was the death of William Hague on 9 October 1924. Despite a field of seven candidates from three parties for three seats at the general election in March, only two candidates stood for the by-election in November. The result was that Henry Crosby for the Liberal Federation with 3732 votes defeated Michael Joseph Murphy for the Labor Party with 3063 votes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanunda Football Club</span> Australian rules football club

The Tanunda Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies, is an Australian rules football club based in the Barossa Valley town of Tanunda, South Australia, and competes in the Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association.

Stockwell railway station was located on the Barossa Valley railway line. It served the town of Stockwell.

References

  1. "Following the Iron Road". The Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 9 September 1911. p. 15. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  2. "The Truro Railway". The Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 26 September 1917. p. 10. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  3. "Sedan Railway Movement". Kapunda Herald. SA: National Library of Australia. 23 August 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  4. "Truro to Blanchetown Railway". The Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 29 July 1921. p. 6. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  5. "Truro-Blanchetown Railway". The Chronicle . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 13 October 1923. p. 52. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  6. "Angaston-Nuriootpa Bike Path" (PDF). Barossa Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  7. Penrice soda ash plant at Osborne closing ABC News 25 June 2014
  8. "Penrice stoney and SBR iron trains cease" Railway Digest August 2014 page 19
  9. "Signaling & infrastructure" Railway Digest February 2015 page 15
  10. Interactive Maps of Railways in South Australia
  11. "Barossa Valley Tourist Trains" Railway Digest February 1997 pages 15-16
  12. "The Barossa Wine Train in retrospect" Railway Digest October 2003 pages 33-35
  13. Angaston NRM Special from Adelaide
  14. "Angaston Railway". The Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 September 1913. p. 7. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  15. "The Angaston Railway". The Chronicle . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 14 September 1912. p. 14. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  16. 1 2 "The Truro Railway". Daily Herald . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 6 January 1916. p. 4. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  17. Access to South Australia Regional Rail Network
  18. Kroemer's Crossing Roundabout Project
  19. BAROSSA TOURIST TRAIN CAMPAIGN
  20. Answer looming on tourist train
  21. Geber loses court battle to save Barossa rail line
  22. Adelaide is growing beyond its limits — so could a train revival help steam the city's expansion?